Is milk the carrier of Crohns disease?

We hear constant chatter from the regulatory types about the dangers of raw milk and the health hazards of consuming it. But they seem to be strangely uninterested in examining the health risks of consuming conventionally produced and processed milk products, not to mention many other processed foods. The L.A. Times article excerpted below gives a rare glimpse into one of the health hazards of conventional dairy products that we’re mostly not hearing much about. This article is from twelve years ago. One wonders whether any further research has been done since then to follow up on these significant findings. From Thomas H. Maugh II, in the L. A. Times, via Crohns.org:

“If, as some scientists are now convinced, Crohn’s disease is caused by a microorganism, the question becomes: How is it transmitted? The shocking answer, they say, is through that most sacrosanct of beverages–milk. The microorganism under suspicion, Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, or MAP, is common in U.S. dairy herds, activists argue, and it is not killed by conventional pasteurization. Transmission of MAP from infected cattle to humans through milk could explain much about the occurrence of Crohn’s, including its geographical distribution and rising incidence. The purported spread of MAP through milk “constitutes a public health disaster of tragic proportions,” said Dr. John Hermon-Taylor of St. George’s Hospital Medical Center in London. Both the U.S. dairy industry and the Food and Drug Administration argue vehemently that the U.S. milk supply is safe and that pasteurization is effective at removing any potential threats….” Read it all on Crohns.org